Transition from Engineering to Consulting?

Hey everyone,

I'm entering my final year at school, studying chemical engineering (MS). Unfortunately, I've come to realize too late that the engineering life might not be for me--I don't really like being stuck in a plant environment, and from what I read, there's a lower salary cap for engineers. Consulting, on the other hand, seems to be pretty diverse and interesting, with more potential for growth.

I've accepted a full-time return offer for my current summer internship position--it's for a large chemical company (think Dupont). I don't have any consulting experience at this point, and honestly the starting salary/benefits were quite good in my opinion, so I had accepted it just to be safe. I'm still seriously considering consulting right now, though, so my question is: Should I start prepping/applying to consulting positions immediately after I graduate, or should I stay in the plant life for a few years and get a MBA first? I was thinking of using my school's recruiting website to apply.

For what it's worth, I attend a target school (Northwestern) and my grades are decent (3.78 gpa). I've done a few internships for large chemical/oil companies but no real consulting experience. If anyone has made this type of switch before, I would be grateful for some advice on what I should do.

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